The Adventures of Alex Mercer: Siberian Darkness
by The Chimeran Vampire
Summary: After the events of [Prototype], Alex Mercer travels the world and gets himself in situations of an unusual nature. PART 2 Disclaimer: Check my Profile.
1. Chapter 1

**3 years later**

Dr. Till Lindemann woke up due to sunlight hitting his face. He sat up in his bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He got out of bed, put his glasses on, and left his room. He went downstairs in his house to the smell of eggs frying and coffee brewing. He entered the kitchen to find Dr. Alex Mercer cooking breakfast.

Lindemann thought _I knew having him cook breakfast was the best idea I had._

Lindemann sat down as quietly as he could. "Good mornin' to you too, Doc." said Mercer. "I heard the thumps of your footsteps upstairs. It's almost impossible to sneak up on me."

Lindemann reached for the journal on the table. He brought out a pen and started writing, voicing his writing aloud. "Patient Dr. Alex Mercer exhibits heightened hearing, which hasn't decreased since patient's last meal, almost two weeks ago."

"It was eleven days ago. I had a nice, thick, bloody steak. I'd like to eat again, Doc." said Mercer.

Lindemann stopped writing, "When the two week mark hits, you can eat again." Mercer flipped Lindemann's eggs and turned the heat off on the pan. Mercer put a slice of bread in the toaster next to the coffee maker, setting the dial to 4 and a half minutes.

Mercer turned to Lindemann, sat down, and said, "Can we go outside? It'll only be light for another hour. I want as much sunlight as possible before the solstice." Lindemann looked outside and saw the sun cresting over the hills.

"Let me finish eating and bundle up. Meet me outside." said Lindemann. He closed up his journal, grabbed a fork and started eating. Mercer left the room and went outside, sitting on a rock in the front yard. Mercer laid down on the rock, getting lost in his memories.

_Lindemann and Mercer enter the town of Liepzieg, Germany. They went into a convenience store. There were a couple of people in there shopping and two people manning both cash registers. Lindemann went to get some energy drinks to test on Mercer. Mercer went to a table near one of the cash registers. After Lindemann paid for the energy drinks, they were just about ready to leave when two masked people entered the store. One of them went to one cash register and the other person to the other register. They each pointed a handgun at the employees. The other customers hit the floor and Mercer stopped._

_"What are you doing, Alex?" said Lindemann from the floor, speaking english._

_"I have to do something, Doc." said Mercer. One of the gunmen said something in German and the employee emptied the register. After the registered was emptied, the gunman turned the safety off and pointed the gun at the employee. The person closed her eyes, expecting the pains of gunshot wounds. Instead, her face got sprayed with blood. She opened her eyes and saw a giant Claw erupting from the gunman's chest. Another Claw bursted out of the gunman's abdomen. The gunman was raised in the air and ripped in half horizontally. The pieces fell to the ground and were consumed by Mercer. Everyone looked at Mercer, including the other gunman. The other gunman yelled and shot at Mercer, putting a couple of rounds in his chest and the last bullet blew off part of Mercer's head. "You're just a pig." said Mercer in flawless German. His wounds regenerated and his head was put together. "A worthless pig, waiting to be slaughtered and eaten." Mercer said. Mercer ran forward and grabbed the other gunman. He lifted the man up in the air and ripped him in half vertically. Mercer consumed what was left of the man._

_Lindemann got up, pocketed the other man's gun, and said, "We should be going, not everyone appreciates death." Mercer looked around and saw people looking at him in horror._

_"I get that a lot." said Mercer in english. They left the store and hopped on the nearest train to head east._

Mercer continued laying on the rock, slowly taking in sunlight. He remembered another incident.

_Mercer and Lindemann were walking through a small village of Yartsevo, the same village they were staying near. They rounded a street corner and saw a building in flames. Mercer heard screams coming from the burning building and he ran forward at inhuman speed. Mercer jumped into the building. He walked around in the building, trying to find the people. He entered what was left of the kitchen and saw a woman backed up against an interior door. Not knowing Russian, he held his hand out. The woman grabbed it and he carried her bridal style out of the burning house. He set the person down and, upon hearing more screams coming from the building, went back inside the burning home. He continued searching through the home, looking for more people. He went up the burning stairs and tried to open the nearest door. When the knob wouldn't open, he morphed his right arm into a Claw and stabbed the door. He ripped the door off the frame and threw the door to the ground. He looked the room and saw everything in flames. He looked to the left and saw the closet door shut. He ripped that door off with his Claws and saw a little girl passed out on the floor. Mercer waved the smoke out of the way and picked the girl up. He went back into the bedroom and jumped out the window. He landed on the ground and was greeted by the woman, talking in russian._

_The woman started talking to mercer in russian. Mercer said, "I don't speak russian."_

_"They're thanking you, Mercer." said Lindemann. "I know some russian. I can translate it for you, if I walk it through german first." Lindemann started talking to the woman in russian. She talked to him. "She thanks you for saving her daughter and wonders how she can repay you." Lindemann said._

_Mercer thought about it and said, "I want housing for the Doc and myself until we see fit to leave. I also require a corpse of a person that could speak russian, preferably dead within the last twelve hours. That should be all."_

_Lindemann translated that for the woman. She pointed to what remained of the house. Lindemann said, "She says her husband was still trapped in the basement of the house. If he's dead, you can have his body. Just let her have closure first." Mercer walked into the smoldering remains of the house. He sifted through the ashes until he found a body. A broad shouldered man with shards of glass near him. Mercer lifted the body up and brought it to the woman._

_She cried out, "Kamarov!" and knelt by his body, the little girl joining her. Mercer gave them some space._

_A few minutes later, Mercer said, "We had an agreement." Lindemann relayed that to the woman._

_She said something to Lindemann. Lindemann spoke to Mercer. "She wants to know what you'll do to the body. I'm guessing you'll devour it."_

_"Correct, Doc. Tell her that I need to assimilate the body to acquire, at least, the ability to speak russian." Mercer said. He approached the body as Lindemann translated for the woman. "This isn't for your eyes." Mercer said to the woman and child. Lindemann relayed that to the woman and child. They turned away as Mercer put his hand on the body of Kamarov. Mercer's hand turned into a flurry of black and purple tendrils with ethereal darkness scattered in there. In a moment, the body was consumed. Mercer got up and spoke to the woman in flawless russian. "That allows me to communicate with you. Now, about that housing."_

Mercer looked up at the sky, the sun barely cresting the mountains. The woman and child he saved used money from Kamarov's death to buy this house for the four of them. Mercer heard noises coming from the house. He got up and saw Lindemann coming out of the house. Alena, the woman, and the child, gabrielle, followed suit.

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**A/N: The Second part of the series is here. If you haven't read ****The Adventures of Alex Mercer: Fighting a Vampire**** and/or the prologue for The adventures of Alex Mercer: Wizarding Britain****, you could get lost.**

**Dr. Lindemann in this series is named after the lead singer for the band Rammstein, Till Lindemann. I needed a name for the Doctor, (the one that created Schrödinger) and Till Lindemann came to mind first.**

**I hope I can make this part longer than Fighting a Vampire, but who knows.**


	2. Dracul Power, the First Attack

"From where we left off, Patient Alex Mercer can exhibit demonic power." said Dr. Lindemann. He turned Alena and Gabrielle and said, "You two may want to leave." They went into the house.

"Yes, I can call on the Dracul Blood that I assimilated." Mercer closed his eyes and focused on the power of the vampire Alucard. Immediately, the sky darkened and the air tasted of blood. In a flurry of tendrils, Mercer's facial features changed and his trademark hoodie changed to flowing, black hair. Mercer's right eye stayed the shade of gray he normally had. His left eye changed to blood-red and his nose and chin became more pointed. He grew a foot in height and his black vest turned red. Mercer could feel something borderline demonic in him, but it wouldn't release. "I...I can't release it." Mercer pushed the power into himself and the sky brightened again, losing the taste of blood. His features still stayed the same.

"What could be holding you back?" said Lindemann.

They pondered on this situation for a few minutes until Mercer blurted out, "HELENA!"

"What?" said Lindemann.

"The Nail of Helena. A divine artifact used by Anderson. He stabbed me on accident and it gave me divine thorns. That's what's restricting my power." Mercer tore into his chest using his right hand and exposed the nail. Using his left hand, he grabbed the nail and ripped it out. Mercer could feel the divine power leaving him. as he dropped the nail. The Dracul blood in him started rushing around, allowing Mercer to tap into it. He felt the blood overriding his Blacklight powers, similar to the divine thorns. His right arm turned to ethereal darkness and the tip morphed into what looked like a Leader Hunter. The hunter's hindquarters were still part of the darkness that came from Mercer, but its head more resembled an eyeless hellhound than a hunter. It howled as the air tasted of blood again and the sky darkened with eyes dotting the skies. Lindemann whimpered and grasped the Nail that dropped.

"That's enough, Mercer. I now see that you are intoxicated by the power of the Nosferatu." Lindemann said, seeing the look of glee on Mercer's face. His left arm became a flurry of Blacklight tendrils, each tendril ending in an ethereal blade. Lindemann looked closer and saw Mercer's left eye was burning red with passion, but his right eye was still grey and was pained, begging Lindemann to stop him. Lindemann walked forward, saying, "Alex, take control of yourself. Consume the vampiric power, don't let it consume you." The hellish hunter started charging Lindemann, who sidestepped it and stabbed it with the nail. The hunter immediately died as the ethereal connection was severed. Lindemann pulled the nail out and threw it at Mercer. Mercer grabbed it with his reformed hand and stabbed himself with it. The demonic power was sealed away again, causing the blades to disappear. The flurry of Blacklight tendrils was replaced by thorns. Mercer's left eye receded back to gray, his hair receded back and became a hood again, he lost some height and his facial features lost their aristocratic characteristics. Mercer dropped to his knees as the rush left him.

"That was frightening. I almost lost control." said Mercer. Mercer heard footsteps behind him and turned around, to see someone walking towards them with Alena and Gabrielle following behind. The man had denim pants and a red shirt. He also had a beard and an aged expression on his face. "Who are you?"

"My name is Viktor Reznov. We have a situation in town and we would like your opinion. We would also like Dr. Lindemann to come with us too." said the man.

"We're not in trouble, are we?" said Lindemann

"No, we have a dead body in town. We can't find cause of death." said Reznov."

Mercer and Lindemann looked at each other for a second, and Mercer said, "We'll go. I need exercise anyways." Mercer followed the four of them to a car. Lindemann, Reznov, Alena, and Gabrielle got in. "Go, I'll keep up." Reznov started the car and drove off down the driveway. Mercer started running, catching up to the car. A minute later, they arrived in town. They pulled up to a funeral home and got out of the car.

"I would recommend you two stay out here, it's horrible." said Reznov.

"How bad could it be?" said Mercer. The three of them entered a room with a dead body covered in a sheet. The man standing behind the body was portly, and had on glasses. Reznov nodded at the man and he pulled the sheet back. The boy on the table had grayish-black skin, like it was long dead. The body was almost skin and bone. The boy's hair was white and he had an expression of pure horror on his face, exaggerated by his unhinged mouth gaping wide.

"We found him this morning in a ditch. The cause of death was unknown. Personally, I think he was scared to death." said the coroner.

"That reminds me of the ghouls I saw three years ago." said Mercer. He looked the corpse right in the eyes. "Reznov, turn the lights off. Get away from that corpse." Lindemann and the coroner stepped away from the corpse as Reznov turned the lights off. A few seconds later, the corpse started twitching. The corpse sat up on the table. It looked around, saw Mercer, and charged him. It grabbed Mercer and bit into his shoulder. Mercer yelled as he ripped off the corpse's head and consumed the body.

_The boy was walking down a road, grooving to music playing from an mp3 player. It was dark out, a new moon. Fortunately, the boy had a flashlight on him. He was using it to light his way. He was next to a forest, when he saw something cross his path. It was really fast, and it looked like a shadow. The boy took his headphones off and looked in the direction where the thing was heading. He was about to continue on his way when he was knocked over by another something. He tried to fend it off, but it was like trying to grab air. He looked at it and only saw red eyes in what looked like pure shadow._

Mercer opened his eyes and looked at the others. "It's something stranger than a vampire."


	3. Ethereal Shroud

"That was... weird." said Viktor Reznov.

"I've seen weirder shit in London." said Alex Mercer. They, along with Dr. Lindemann, were walking out of the funeral home. They went to the car to find Alena and Gabrielle waiting for them. They got in the car and drove off, with Mercer following behind.

They got out of town when Mercer saw movement in the woods nearby. He let the others leave and went to check it out. He entered the woods to find something darting between the trees. Due to it being dark out, he couldn't see what it was. Mercer turned to leave the forest, when he felt something latch on to him. It felt like a cloak, wrapping itself around him. Mercer felt the cloak envelope his vision and constrict around him. He instinctively sent out tendrils of his biomass to consume whatever was around him. The cloak left him as Mercer was reflexively gasping for air. He looked around and saw a sight behind him. It was a small mass of darkness, about the size of a large curtain, and the only thing visible on it was a pair of hellish-red eyes.

Mercer heard in his mind _What are you? Demon, or angel? You have no soul, and your energies are balanced._ Mercer looked at it and said, "Did you say that?"

He heard _Yes. I am a shade, a living shadow, an ethereal shroud. Humans don't survive encounters with my kind._ Mercer said, "Well, I'm no human."

_I know. You have hundreds of souls within you, but you don't have a soul of your own._ "You are responsible for the boy's death." said Mercer.

_I'm following my master's orders._ "I don't care, he was an innocent boy." said Mercer. He shifted his arms into Claws. "The sentence is death. For that is what I am!" Mercer said as he charged the mass of darkness. He stabbed it with his right claw, to no effect. The shroud formed a limb with its right side and stabbed Mercer in his head. The spilled blood caused some Dracul power to awaken. The energies lashed out, sending the shadow flying. Mercer's head wound refused to heal, a side effect of the demonic power lashing out. It reached out and grabbed the shade, slamming it up against a tree.

_What is this? Another shadow mage?_ The shade projected. "What? A shadow mage? Whatever, I'll get the info from you." Mercer said. He willed the Dracul power to consume the shade. After the shroud was consumed, Mercer was assaulted by memories. One of them stood out.

_The shade was in a basement of an abandoned house. "My master, we captured another soul." In front of the dark-gray shade was a mass of reddish-black demonic energy. It had purple eyes that seemed to stare into the shade's soul._

_"This is acceptable, but I need more. This is only soul 600, I need 666 souls before I can survive in the light. Then, our paradise can be achieved." said the mass of darkness. "I need you to scout out the population for new arrivals. I fear we have a vampire in our presence."_

_"How do you know? No vampire can go up against a shade." said the shade._

_"A Dracul vampire can. They can devour the souls of the living. Also, the more powerful ones can call on hellhounds and use other forms of shadow to harm us. They can't kill us, but the Dracul will severely hinder our progress." said the mass of darkness._

"What the Fuck!?" exclaimed Mercer. He walked out of the forest. As he was moving, he found that his skin and clothes turned darker as he was in a shadow. "Am I invisible?" said Mercer. He found his way back to the road to find Lindemann and others calling his name. Mercer walked up to them.

"What happened to you?" said Lindemann. "Your skin has a darker tone."

Mercer walked up to Reznov and said, "You need to put a curfew on the town. No one leaves their home after sunset. If it's an emergency, no one goes anywhere alone." They asked what was happening. "It's some form of demon, I believe. A being with control over shadows." He turned to Lindemann. "As to my skin, I believe I can blend into shadows."

"How? What did you eat?" said Lindemann.

"A shade. It stabbed me and my bleeding called the Dracul power forward. That overwhelmed the shadow and I devoured it." said Mercer "The memory showed the shade before a mass of darkness, similar to Dracula's level 0 release. It said it needed 666 souls to survive in light. I'll need to find more shades to get more information.

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**A/N: Sorry for short chapters, they don't want to flow right. I'll try harder next time.**


	4. I am You

**Days later**

Dr. Mercer and Dr. Lindemann were sitting around a table in the dining room. Lindemann had a cup of coffee in his hand. "So, let's recap on what we know on the murders." said Lindemann.

"It can control shadows, devour souls, and cannot live in light." said Mercer. "The shades can communicate also via telepathy."

"Really? I would like to talk to one, study their physiology." said Lindemann.

"They're just sentient shadows, there's nothing for you to dissect." said Mercer. "It sends shades to steal souls for it."

"Wait, you said it need 666 souls, right?" said Lindemann. Mercer nodded. "What if the shadows it can control are the souls it 'devoured'?" Mercer looked at him like he had two heads. "Alucard could call on the souls he devoured and summon hellhounds. It's not impossible."

"I need to kill it over 600 times!? That's fuckin' nuts!" said Mercer.

"No, devour it. Like what you did with the shade. You'll gain its power, use that against it." said Lindemann.

At this moment, Alena walked in the room. She was wearing a white bathrobe that hugged her body and her hair was in a mess. "Did you two go to sleep last night?" she said to Mercer, twirling her hair in her fingers.

"I don't sleep, Alena, and Lindemann has a bad case of paranoia and that keeps him awake at night." said Mercer.

"It's not paranoia if something out to kill you." Lindemann retorted,

"I have the senses of a vampire and the immortality of a virus, nothing is getting by me. Calm down." said Mercer. Alena walked out of the kitchen and winked at Mercer before leaving with a smile. He leaned to Lindemann and said, "What was that about?"

"I could be wrong, but I think she likes you." said Lindemann.

"You mean as a friend? I would think so. I did save her life, and her daughter's life too." said Mercer.

"No, I mean like a, um, a boyfriend." said Lindemann.

"Oh, I see. What should I do?" said Mercer.

Lindemann looked at Mercer and said, "I wouldn't know. Maybe you should call on a soul within you for advice."

Mercer shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'll give it a shot." Mercer closed his eyes and focused within himself. In a moment, Mercer was in what he believed his insides were like. He was in a room with walls of flesh. Pulsing, throbbing, viral biomass. He looked around some more and saw that behind him was a door made of biomass. He looked at the door and it opened, giving way to a city of flesh. It was a floating city, with 'roads' made of flowing blood.

"What the fuck is this? Hellish Venice?" said Mercer.

"No." said a voice he'd thought he would never hear again. "This, my child, is your hive mind." Mercer turned around to see a person who he consumed years before.

Elizabeth Greene.

"I killed you, consumed your corpse." said Mercer.

"And you devoured my soul, along with the souls of every single sentient being you consumed." said Greene.

"But I didn't gain that ability until I devoured Alucard the first time." said Mercer.

"You are still so young, Alex. Blood is the currency of the soul, the vehicle of life. To consume blood is to take that being into your self. I didn't understand that until the Dracul blood you consumed awakened and the souls within you became active." said Greene. They got on a raft made of bone and flesh and drifted. "They continued to exist, believing they are in hell. Few know the truth, that they are a part of you, Alex. I am one of them, another one is a soul called Alexander Anderson, another is a soul called Joseph Granger, the last one is a soul named Felix Yusupov."

"I don't recognize that last name." said Mercer.

"Few would know him. But from what Anderson told me, he directed Iscariot agents in the murder of Grigori Rasputin. As to why Iscariot wanted Rasputin dead is beyond Anderson's knowledge." said Greene. They continued drifting along, eventually coming to a stop in front of a pulsing mass of flesh. "We're here. You need to enter." said Greene. "The advice you seek lies with Anderson." Mercer got off the raft, leaving Greene behind. He approached the biomass and some of it parted, showing a path hidden within. Mercer entered, following twisted hallways. Eventually, he reached what looked like an arena. It was a big room with a giant, beating heart in the middle. Below that, two figures were fighting. One had a red trenchcoat complete with a hood, obscuring their identity. That figure had Claws active, black as darkness. The other had on a grey robe and white gloves. He was wielding bayonets, flinging and slicing with them. Even though the man was dealing lethal blows to the other figure, the figure was shrugging them off and countering with strikes that the man kept dodging.

"Why do you fight me, Anderson? You know what I am." said the other figure. He had a raspy voice, laced with something demonic, but still familiar to Mercer.

"If you gain control of Mercer, all life on Earth will die! I cannot allow you to assume power within him." said Anderson. He flung a flurry of bayonets at the other man, impaling the man. The man's Claws disappeared, leaving a Blade on his right arm. The man jumped up, ready to cleave Anderson in two with that strike. Mercer ran to Anderson's side and parried it with a Blade of his own. Mercer's left hand turned into Hammerfist and he uppercutted the man, sending him flying back. Anderson looked at Mercer and said, "How did you get here? Who's controlling you right now?"

"I'm meditating in a near-catatonic state. I looked into myself and arrived here." said Mercer. "What I want to know is who you're fighting."

"I am you, Alex Mercer." said the man. He took off his hood, to reveal almost a copy of Mercer. Though, this man had long, black hair; an aristocratic nose and chin; and burning, red eyes, like a demon. "The Blacklight Virus gave me a form, the Dracul Blood gave me a mind, combined I am what you were designed to be. The end result of all life. For simplicity, you may call me ZEUS."

"ZEUS. Can't even make a name for yourself. You probably can't aspire to be more than a weapon." said Mercer.

"No, I do have higher goals than Gentek. I want a utopia. A world where there is no war, no murder, no thievery, no disease, no suffering of any kind." said ZEUS with a messiah-like tone. "The world is dying, humanity is a scourge. I intend on rectifying that. I intend to raise humanity above such needs as hunger, thirst, and slumber."

"The only way I can see a scourge like you accomplishing that, would be by consuming every human in this world." said Mercer. "I will never let you do that." He brandished his Claws. "I will never free you. Father, help me defeat this abomination."

"I am called to cut away at infidels," said Anderson, forming two bayonets into a cross. "and remove from this world, all those who would defy God." Anderson yelled, "AMEN!" as Mercer just yelled and they charged ZEUS. He just laughed as he was sliced by Mercer's claws and impaled by Anderson's bayonets. ZEUS dodged more strikes by the two of them, frustrating Mercer to no end. Mercer struck him with Whipfist, throwing him around. All the while, ZEUS was laughing an ethereal, demonic laugh. "Why do you laugh, monster?" said Anderson

"Oh, I'm more in tune with this body than you." said ZEUS. "If Mercer doesn't regain control soon, I'll be able to. Then my goals will be achieved. I'm just waiting."

"I better get going, Father." said Mercer. "Keep him here." With that comment, Mercer concentrated on being back in his body. With a jerk, similar to falling in your sleep, Mercer woke up.

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**A/N: I try to have longer chapters, but here was a good spot to break off.**


	5. A Step to Humanity

"What did you find out?" said Dr. Lindemann.

"The Nail of Helena must never be removed." said Mercer. "It's the only thing keeping the Dracul power from taking hold."

"May I ask how is that a bad thing?" said Lindemann.

"When I explored my subconsciousness, I saw a being in there that would kill everything if unleashed. My other persona, ZEUS." said Mercer.

"How did this ZEUS come to be?" asked Lindemann.

"ZEUS is the personification of the Blacklight virus, combined with the Dracul blood I assimilated. ZEUS is also what Gentek and Blackwatch called me when I was young and terrorizing New York." said Mercer. He took a breath and sighed. "ZEUS awakened days ago when I called on the Dracul power. I tapped into it a little to ensnare the shade. If I had time, I could've asked the shroud how to control ZEUS."

"You tapped into the Dracul blood to consume the shade, yes?" said Lindemann. Mercer nodded. Lindemann got up and started pacing, muttering about "shrouds" and "divinities". Finally, he said, "Can you use the Nail to consume ethereal forces?"

Following Lindemann's train of thought, Mercer said, "And then consume the thorns with my virus?" Lindemann voiced approval. "When I get the opportunity, I'll try it."

Lindemann sat down again and said, "Did you find what you were looking for?" Seeing Mercer's puzzled look, he said, "You delved into your mind to find guidance on how to handle Alena's affections?"

"No, I didn't." said Mercer.

"Well, you remember your goal on achieving humanity?" said Lindemann. Mercer nodded his head. "A part of humanity is to be with a 'significant other' for the rest of their lives."

"But I'm eternal, not alive." interjected Mercer. "When she dies, I continue my eternity."

"Deal with that problem when it arrives!" yelled Lindemann. "There is a lonely woman that wants your affections. You are a virus, synthesize that emotion. You will not regret it." Lindemann finally calmed down. A few minutes went by and then he said, "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I had a wife once. She was beautiful, but always had heart problems. She suffered cardiac arrest while giving birth to our first child. When she died, I vowed to care for our child, our daughter. The child was stillborn, it never had a chance to live. You could have what I can never attain. That is why I was angry at you. You sounded like you were giving up without even trying."

"Your right, Till." said Mercer, calling Lindeman by his first name. "I shouldn't let what I am get in the way of what I want. I will go after her. If not for me, for her." Mercer got up. "This is what it is to be human, to follow your emotions, no matter where it takes you." Mercer then left the room, leaving Lindemann behind.

"Be careful, Alex, for women are fickle beings. They can be a handful, but the reward is worth it." said Lindemann. "Godspeed you lucky sonofabitch."

Mercer walked outside to see Alena sitting with Gabrielle on the rock in the front yard, reading a story. Mercer hopped off the steps, onto the grass, and looked all ready to talk to Alena when he just froze. He thought _What if Lindemann was wrong? What if she doesn't like you?_ "Nah, I always trusted his judgement."**_ Humans are fallible. They can fail._** "I can accept the wrongs that she could do." **_That's fine now. But when she is old and withering, and you are young and spry as ever, what then? Will you let her die, and spend eternity without her? Or will you devour her soul, ensuring that death cannot part you?_** "Who is this?"**_ You know._** Mercer growled out, "ZEUS." **_Set me free, Mercer. I will devour her soul and you two can spend eternity within me. What do you say?_** "NEVER!" yelled Mercer, dropping to his knees and pounding his fists into the ground. Unknowing to him, Mercer's right arm turned to Hammerfist and it made a shockwave, startling Alena and Gabrielle. They turned around to see Mercer get up and morph is arm back to normal in a flurry of tendrils. "I'm sorry if I startled you two."

"No, not at all." said Alena, just trying to be polite.

Her daughter, Gabrielle, was more blunt. "What are you? A monster?"

It was obvious she saw Mercer's arm covered in tendrils. "Gabrielle, I ask you to not call me a monster." He walked up to them both and he got eye to eye with Gabrielle. She retreated into her mother's embrace. "Monsters aren't born, they are made." said Mercer. "Wait, that was the wrong saying. Looks aren't defined by looks, they are defined by actions. So, you see, I'm not a monster." He looked at Alena and said, "I want to talk to you about something."

"Gabrielle, go inside." Alena said. After Gabrielle left, Alena said, "What do you want to say?"

For a second, Mercer froze up again. He thought You can do this. A human would push forward. He sat on the ground and said, "For most of my life, I wanted to be human. To be able to feel, to hold someone. Other than that, I don't know how to describe humanity." Yes, you can do it Alex. "Can you help me, Alena? Guide me? Escort me on my path to humanity?" He got up, stood in front of Alena, and held her hands with his. "The amount of humans I trust in this world I can count on one hand. Till Lindemann; Dr. Ragland, who saved my life when I was younger; Dana Mercer, who was my creator's sister; and you. You are the only one I can count on to help me with this. Dr. Lindemann is a scientist, he is studying my capabilities and Dr. Ragland is taking care of my creator's sister, who fell into a coma." A choking sensation welled up in his throat, like his heart leapt up there. This was accompanied by a fluttering sensation in his abdomen. "Right now, I have an unfamiliar feeling running through me, something human. Like a fluttering sensation in my gut."

Before Mercer could say anything further, Alena said, "What you are feeling is the setting of affection, a form of love. Love is the most powerful emotion, after that comes fear. Have you felt fear, Alex?"

"No, but I'm sure my enemies have." said Alex.

"Fear helps us stay alive, but love is what makes life worth living." said Alena. "If you want to be human, feeling love is the key."

"Can I feel love?" said Mercer. he sounded desperate, like a man dying to thirst looking for water.

"Meet me out by the car at 6pm tonight." said Alena. She got up and said, "Look good for me, please." She then did something that never happened to Alex Mercer before.

She kissed him.

On the cheek.

With that action, she entered the house. He put his hand on his left cheek, where she kissed him. "Why is this affecting me?" said Mercer. He walked inside and into the kitchen, where the clock was located. It read 5pm. "I got an hour to kill." He sat down and said, "Look good, ok." muttered Mercer. He concentrated on looking good. In a flurry of tendrils, his attire turned into a black shirt with a long, blood-red tie; his pants became black as night with knee-high boots of the same color; this was covered by a long, blood-red trenchcoat and on Mercer's head was a wide-brimmed hat of the same color. Mercer stood up and looked down on himself. He noticed his hands now had gloves with pentagrams on them. **_A way out!_** Mercer dropped to his knees, breathing heavily. **_RELEASE ME!_** "NO!" yelled Mercer running out of the house. He barely heard people trying to catch up to him. Fortunately for him, he stumbled and fell to the ground just a little ways from the house. Lindemann and Alena rushed to him. Mercer looked at Alena and said, "Teach me humanity." She looked at him with a quizzical look. He grabbed her hands and said, "His hold is weaker, affection keeps him away." She nodded and kissed him on his other cheek. Mercer felt his strength returning to him. He got up and said "Thank you." By now, he noticed the lime-green dress she wore complimenting her red hair. She also had earrings with pearls in them.

"Of course." said Lindemann.

They looked at him and he said, "Alucard's anger at God and his defiance to God caused him to become a vampire, the source of ZEUS' 'soul' persay. Affection, being the opposite of anger, will weaken him considerably. With enough affection, and the Nail of Helena, ZEUS could be destroyed."

"Who is ZEUS? The Greek God of Lightning?" said Alena.

"My other personality, awakened by Dracul blood. All he wants is to devour all life in this world." said Mercer.

"Well that outfit looks good on you." said Alena.

"I stole this from Count Dracula, when I attempted to devour him." said Mercer.

"Wait, devour? Count Dracula? He's fiction, right?" said Alena.

"Dracula is real, I fought him, and nearly killed him. Even with his army, I tore through it and still tried to kill him. As for devouring, I hope for your sake you never know what I'm talking about." said Mercer.

"Well, I'm going to finish getting ready." said Alena as she entered the house.

Lindemann looked at me and said, "You responded to her affections?" Mercer nodded his head. "Good luck." With that, he entered the house. Mercer waited outside in his vampire attire for a few minutes until Alena walked out. She had on mascara and red lipstick.

"You look good." said Mercer.

"C'mon, Alex, can't you think of a better word than good?" teased Alena.

Mercer looked right into her eyes and said, "You look beautiful, Alena."

Alena walked to the car and said, "Get in." Mercer got in on the passenger side and they drove to town. They passed some stores and pulled into a theater. "I've never seen you eat, so I don't know what to treat you to. So, I've decided on a movie date." They walked on.

Mercer said, "I really don't have a need to eat. I only feed to repair myself." They entered, Alena walked up to the ticket booth, and said, "Two for 'Jeepers Creepers'." They got their tickets and went into the theater. They sat in the middle of the theater, behind two people, waiting for the movie to start. When the movie started, there were only the other two people. One had short, blonde hair and the other had long, black hair. They sat through the movie, Alena leaning up on him at the creepy parts.

Near the ending, Mercer heard a line from one of the characters that struck him. "It has eaten too many hearts, for its own to ever stop." The end of the movie came and the two people in front got up.

They turned around as Mercer got up. Mercer recognized them as Iscariot Agents and remembered what he was wearing, said, "Oh fuck." The blond man pulled out two Beretta Model 93 Raffica(93R) handguns and started shooting him in the heart. The black-hair woman pulled out a sword and decapitated him.

"Through the cry of our men and the slaughter of the unworthy, the world slippeth back into place." chanted the woman.

"I don't understand, I thought Alucard died." said the man.

"Wait, he died?!" said Mercer. The three of them saw Mercer's headless body stand up with tendrils seeping out of the stump. The body rocked back, pulling something up off the ground, which was revealed to be Mercer's head, without the hat. The tendrils pulled the head back to where it was. Once Mercer's head was back on, he said, "With the surprise of humanity and the connection of tendrils, my head slippeth back into place." Throwing the woman's words back at them. By now, Mercer reverted back to his normal look. "Iscariot, what do you want?"

"Our records show that Father Anderson took a valuable holy artifact with him to London. Neither him, nor the Artifact, returned to the Vatican. We believed that you were the last ones to come in contact with both of them." said the man.

Remembering the situation in the town, Mercer said, "We have a demonic being somewhere in this area. You help us destroy it, I'll spill the information."

"What kind of being?" said the woman. "We might know how to kill it."

"It can control shadows and make ghouls, for lack of a better term." said Mercer. One of them muttered about a vampire. "The weakest vampires can still bear artificial light, this being can't."

"How do you know? Maybe you are the being." accused the man.

"There's light in this room, that proves it isn't me." said Mercer. "I can't believe that you would think that. What are your names?"

"Heinkel Wolfe" said the man.

"Yumie Takagi" said the woman.

"I could send the both of you to Hell for that insult, but I choose not to." said Mercer. "What do you two know of Grigori Rasputin?"

"The Heretic? He demonized himself, selling his soul for power. When Section XIII heard of his powers, we sent in a team of paladins to kill him. They succeeded in 1916, poisoning, stabbing, shooting, bludgeoning him, and finally decapitating him. A russian, Felix Yusupov, stayed behind to get rid of the body." said Heinkel.

"Do you believe Rasputin is still alive?" said Yumie.

"Yes, I encountered the soul of Yusupov. He was like a shadow, which leads me to believe that Rasputin is a demon now, devouring the souls of his enemies." said Mercer.

Mercer heard someone clearing their throat. He turned around to see Alena glaring at them. "Go with them and investigate, I'll drive myself home." Alena left. After that, the three of them left the theater to investigate.


	6. The Wraith Plays its Hand

Mercer, Heinkel, and Yumie walked out of the theater. "I encountered a shade in the woods outside of town." said Mercer.

"Then that would be the best place to look." said Heinkel, reloading his guns. They started to walk to the Iscariots' car when Mercer spotted something going on in an took a look and saw a woman being assaulted. This woman was dressed like a whore, but what caught Mercer's attention was what was assaulting her. It was a shadow. It was trying to smother her. Mercer grabbed Yumie and Heinkel and dragged them to the alley. By now, the woman fell to the ground, pale as a ghoul.

"This is what's been assaulting this town." said Mercer. "Have you seen anything like this before?"

Heinkel got up. "No, but it's a scourge, an unholy aberration in this world. It must be purged." He shot at the shadow and it was screaming in pain. He looked at Mercer and said, "These bullets are made of silver and soaked in Holy Water, that's how they could harm it." Mercer walked forward and was blindsided by another shadow. Heinkel shot at that one too, dropping that one to the ground. Mercer called upon the Nail of Helena and divine thorns grew out of his right arm, impaling the shades.

"It's thorns, all thorns." said Yumie. The thorns continued to impale the shades until they were almost covered in thorns. Then Mercer commanded the Blacklight to consume the divine thorns, consuming the shadows as well. When this was done, Mercer stumbled on the rush of memories.

_"We attack tonight." said the mass of darkness._

_One of the shades said, "What about this Dracul Vampire?"_

_"We haven't heard from him in days, he could've moved on to another area." said the darkness. "It doesn't matter. If it's still here, I'll crush it and devour its soul. Now go to the town, our eternal darkness is within our grasp."_

_"Yes, Lord Rasputin." the shades chorused._

Mercer opened his eyes and looked at the Iscariot Agents. "The darkness will attack tonight. That shade confirms that Rasputin is behind this."

"What did you do?" asked Yumie.

"My main ability is to be able to consume any lifeform. That is how I was able to acquire Dracul power, by consuming Dracula. That, combined with the Thorns, allows me to consume these shades." said Mercer.

"What happened to Rasputin?" asked Heinkel.

"He became a mass of darkness." said Mercer.

"A Wraith." said Heinkel. "A demon from the fifth circle of Hell, from Styx."

"Keep talking." said Mercer.

"As everyone knows, there are nine circles to Hell." said Heinkel. He put up one finger. "The first circle is Limbo, home of virtuous pagans and unbaptized children." He put up another finger. "The second circle is Lust." He put up another finger. "The third is Gluttony, guard by the worm Cerberus." He put up another finger. "The fourth is Greed, mainly filled with the miserly and prodigal and ruled by Plutus and Fortuna." He put up his thumb. "The fifth circle is the river Styx, filled with the souls of the slothful and angry. Anger is how humans become wraiths." He put up a finger on his other hand. "The sixth circle is the City of Dis, home of the heretics, those that know the true faith and still deny it." He put up another finger. "The seventh circle is violence."

"How is that different from Anger?" said Mercer.

"It's a venial sin to think angry thoughts, but it descends to mortal sin when it is carried out through actions." said Heinkel. "This ring is divided into three parts: The river Phlegethon, a river of boiling blood for those who inflicted violence to people and property, mainly tyrants, murderers, and plunderers; the second part is the Forest of Suicide, inhabited by those who inflict violence on to themselves. After the Great Judgement, they won't be reunited with their bodies because it is unjust to give to those that which they have robbed themselves; the third part is for those who inflict violence on nature, art, and God. The eighth circle of Hell is the Malebolge, the resting place of the fraudulent. The ninth, and last circle of Hell is Lake Cocytus, the eternal tormentor of the traitors. Traitors to kin, traitors to country, traitors to guests, and traitors to benefactors. In the center of the lake sits the Emperor of the Woeful Realm: Lucifer."

"I appreciate the PBS special, Heinkel, but I just wanted information relevant to the Wraith." said Mercer.

"There is no information on wraiths in the Vatican, so we're going in this blind." said Yumie.

Remembering Lindemann and the others, he said "Do either of you have a phone?" Yumie got out a phone and tossed it to Mercer. He immediately rung up the phone to his house.

"Yes?" said Lindemann on the other line.

"This is Alex, has Alena arrived home yet?" asked Mercer.

"Yeah, you want to talk to her?" asked Lindemann.

"Later, right now, I need you to get Alena and Gabrielle to the church in town. I'll meet you there." with that, he hung up. They heard a low moan and saw the corpse of the whore stand up. She growled and charged them. Yumie then decapitated the ghoul.

"We should head to the church." said Yumie. They ran to the church, seeing citizens around them being attacked by shadows. Their running was slowed as they were trying to save every citizen. Heinkel was shooting the shades, allowing Mercer to consume them. Yumie was taking care of the ghouls that would spawn when they couldn't get to a citizen in time for their soul to be ripped out. On the way to the church, they saved a total of ten people. Before the church, Mercer saw a shade attack another woman, with a little boy watching. Mercer used his thorns to impale and consume the shade, but it was too late for the woman. She turned into a ghoul and tried to attack the boy. Mercer impaled the ghoul with his Blade, consuming the ghoul. The three of them saw a car in front of the church. They ran inside, to see Lindemann, Gabrielle, and Alena. The other people ran into the church.

"Listen up!" yelled Mercer after Heinkel and Yumie closed the doors. "You all should be safe as long as you stay in the church. I'm going to face the mastermind behind the shadows." He turned to Yumie and Heinkel, "You two can come with me if you wish."

"Iscariot doesn't back down when the enemy shows itself." said Yumie. Heinkel nodded in agreement. Mercer walked over to a fountain filled with Holy Water. He dunked his head in and started drinking the water, like he had a bazillion Doritos. When he picked his head back up, Yumie asked, "Why did you desecrate that Holy Water?"

"It should give me an edge on the shades, giving my Blacklight some divine power." said Mercer. With that, the three of them left the safety of the church. They were greeted by groups of shades. They started shooting and slicing, cutting and consuming. This continued for a few minutes.

"Last Mag!" yelled Heinkel.

"Use your ammo to get yourself back in the church." yelled Mercer, who proceeded to consume one of the shrouds. The Holy Water did its job, giving Mercer's Blacklight attacks a divine edge.

"I can't!" screamed Heinkel. Mercer turned around to spot Heinkel and Yumie together.

"HEINKEL, YUMIE, HIT THE FLOOR!" Without asking, they dived for the Earth. Mercer allowed his biomass to reach critical and he exploded in a Barrage of Tendrils, impaling all the remaining shades. When the tendrils retracted, it brought the shades with them, allowing Mercer to consume them.

They got up. "What did you do?" asked Yumie.

"A Devastator. When my biomass reaches critical levels, I can execute one of three devastating attacks: a Tendril Barrage like you saw, a Groundspike Graveyard which I used three years ago in London, and Critical Pain where I deliver a single crushing blow." lectured Mercer. "Get back in the church, Heinkel. Unless you have a holy blade.

"Come back safe, Yumie." said Heinkel. He retreated into the church.

Yumie and Mercer turned around and saw a big mass of darkness. It was about half the size of a house and had glowing gold eyes. _"I'm impressed, mortals. But can you defeat darkness itself?"_ It extended a dark tendril and impaled Mercer on it, lifting him off the ground. _"You humans are so easy to destroy."_ Mercer sent a shot of biomass encased in divine thorns in a single, Critical, Painful strike, harming the entity and dropping Mercer. _"The Nail of Helena? Iscariot agents? I'm impressed that you think I can die."_ It screamed all of a sudden when fire started engulfing part of the entity.

Mercer looked around and saw Reznov and a few other police officers throwing what looked like bottles of flame at the semi-demon. "THIS IS FOR MY FAMILY!" yelled Reznov throwing another bottled flame at the creature's feet. It shattered, sending flames at the beast. Mercer continued impaling the shade with his thorns. The thorns, combined with the light from the flames, brought the creature to its 'knees'. In seconds, flames consumed the creature. When the flames died down, all that was left was a shroud black as night. "Is it dead?" asked Reznov.

"I think so, it can't survive in the light. The flames, combined with my divine thorns, could've killed it." said Mercer. The others started heading into the church, leaving Yumie, Mercer, and Reznov outside.

"I'll dispose of this trash." said Reznov, picking up the shroud. He left the area with it, leaving Yumie and Mercer outside.

Mercer walked to the church when Yumie said, "What's that on your back?" Mercer felt around and she said, "It looks like a red dot." At this, Mercer straightened. He turned around and looked down, seeing a red dot on his chest.

"Hit the floor, Yumie." said Mercer. She dropped to the ground, barely dodging a concussive blast from a round that blew Mercer apart. All that was left was bits of parts of Mercer, which were being consumed by napalm.

Behind Yumie, a person said in a dual-voice, "Kill Confirmed." Yumie turned around to see someone she last saw in London.

Seras Victoria, Hellsing's Draculina.


End file.
